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Sunday, January 24, 2016

In the Aftermath of the Storm

I couldn't believe how much snow was on my porch and in the yard when I woke up this morning. Everything had been covered, except for the path to my door Miss Willa and my next-door neighbors shoveled earlier that morning and the steps to my porch, which are in direct sunlight and are usually the first things to dry out after precipitation. I had enough time to make some quick Gingerbread Pancakes for breakfast and listen to one of my 80's music CD's before rushing off to work.

Or trying to rush off to work. I took the bike. I figured most major roads had to have been cleared by quarter of 1. I underestimated just how bad this storm was. Surprisingly, Manor Avenue wasn't really that bad, and the Black Horse Pike and ramp into Oaklyn were perfectly fine. Kendall Boulevard was another story. It was a clogged mess of slush, snow, and salt that hadn't been plowed properly at all. I was not happy as I skidded and dug through the mess. Kendall is one of the major arteries into Oaklyn. If anything, this road should have had top priority. It certainly should have been plowed right by 1. I barely got to work on time.

As it turned out, I could have been indefinitely late. We were dead-to-mildly-steady for the entire afternoon. Most people weren't in the happiest moods about the condition of the roads, either. Kendall Boulevard wasn't the only place that hadn't been dug out. While the Acme's main parking lot and the one adjacent to Arby's were plowed, the one on the other side, near the liquor store, Marburn Curtains, and Applebee's, had been completely ignored. Both the lot and the entrance near Applebee's were still under a ton of snow. A lot of people complained about getting stuck at the Applebee's ramp. I have no idea why they plowed our lot and Arby's and ignored the other one.

After buying some much-needed unbleached flour and brown sugar, I opted to take Nicholson Road and Atlantic Avenue home, instead of dealing with Kendall again. While Nicholson was a mess around Audubon Park, once you got past the development and the Senior Center, it was fine. Atlantic and Manor were no problems, either, a little clogged but nothing like Kendall was.

I spent the rest of the evening eating honey-glazed carrots and leftover meatloaf for dinner and watching Blade Runner. I didn't finish it; I'll give a full report tomorrow.

And two notes. First of all, I saw the very beginning of the Broncos-Patriots championship game at work during break. I'm very happy the Broncos won. Truthfully, I'm not overfond of either team, but I'd rather see the Broncos go than the Patriots yet again. On the other hand, I do like the Arizona Cardinals and the Carolina Panthers, both genuinely good teams that deserve their success. Though the Cardinals have many virtues, I wasn't surprised that they were creamed by the Panthers, 49-15. Everyone's been creamed by the Panthers this season, including the Eagles. I honestly think they have a very good chance at killing the Broncos in the Super Bowl, too.

The other note is, I just went outside briefly and stuck a ruler into the snow on my porch. It almost covered the ruler. I think it's safe to say we at least got a foot or more. And it actually could have been worse. People at the Jersey Shore, including my friend Kelly Conrad who lives in Wildwood, were reporting devastating flooding that was almost at Hurricane Sandy levels. The photo Kelly posted at Facebook showed water literally lapping at her doorstep.